weaving Voices 01.04.2025 issuu - Flipbook - Page 57
Fäbod culture
The fäbod culture existed in several countries across Scandinavia. In
Sweden, it was mainly concentrated around the provinces/regions
of Dalarna, Uppland, Bohuslän, Värmland, Gästrikland and was fully
developed in the Middle Ages. At this time, the land that people
owned was not large enough for both cultivating crops and providing
pasture for the animals. Because of this the vallkullor spent the
whole summer away from home, bringing the animals to more distant
pastures in the wild. Whilst they were away, they and the animals
spent the nights in simple chalets, called fäbodar.
Sweden is one of the few countries in the world where shepherd
culture and animal husbandry was a traditionally female occupation.
One of the theories explaining why women acquired this
responsibility is that there was a fear of bestiality had this task fallen
upon the men. Sources even say that there was an edict from the
king in the 17th century, forbidding men from being alone with
animals.89
Kulning, lockrop, locklåtar and vallåtar
Vallkullor lived with a very close connection to nature and their
animals. Herding was a big responsibility and it was an important and
sometimes dangerous job. The women were exposed to the dangers
of both the natural environment and malicious people. In order to
communicate with the animals, other vallkullor and sometimes the
village, the practice of kulning was developed. Kulning is a highpitched call that can travel over vast distances and it was used to
gather animals, warn others of predators, or to signal that an animal
had been lost or found.
Vallkulla with vallhorn (Winbergh, 1904) 87
Fäbod (Sundberg) 88 (previous page)
The historical context of kulning
Key concepts:
Fäbod (sing), fäbodar (plur): chalet
Vallkulla (sing), vallkullor (plur): herding woman
Vallåt/locklåt (sing), vallåtar/locklåtar (plur): short herding song/tune with lyrics
Kulning: high pitched call intended to reach over a long distance
Lockrop: animal imitating sounds, to gather the animals on a closer proximity
Example kulning (Svenskt Visarkiv) 90
Lockrop are sounds imitating animals and were used to gather and
herd the animals within a smaller distance. Locklåtar are songs with
lyrics often telling the story of life in the fäbod, nature, animals and
the hardships related to this life. The songs were sung while herding
87 Winbergh, P. (1904) Vallkulla blåsande på lur bakom mjölkstuga på Baltsars fäbod i Älvdalen [Photography] Available at: https://digitaltmuseum.se/021017754179/vallkulla-blasande-pa-lur-bakom-mjolkstuga-pa-baltsars-fabod-i-alvdale [Accessed 23 Jun. 2024].
89 Fäbodens kvinnor - den svenska folkmusikens ursprung (2015) Sveriges Radio. Available at: https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6108486 [Accessed 23 Jun. 2024].
88 Sundberg, F. (n.d.) Fäbod [Photography] Kringla. Available at: https://www.kringla.nu/kringla/objekt?text=f%C3%A4bod&sida=3&referens=jlm/item/122635 [Accessed 23 Jun. 2024].
90 Inspelningar i Svenskt visarkiv (n.d.) Katalog Visarkiv. Available at: https://katalog.visarkiv.se/lib/views/rec/
ShowRecord.aspx?id=706521 [Accessed 23 Jun. 2024].
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